OS X Yosemite Public Beta 3 And Developer Preview 8 Released

As well as its usual, dev-only Developer Previews of OS X Yosemite 10.10, Apple has also released a couple of betas, which public users with Apple IDs can install and check out on their Macs. Today, the third OS X Yosemite beta has been rolled out, and as well as details on how and where to download it from, we’ve also got the low-down on all the changes made in this latest release after the break.

Released in conjunction with Yosemite Developer Preview 8, the third Beta is the first for almost a month, with Beta 2 having arrived on August 21st.

Yosemite logo

If you’re a beta tester and wish to get started with the latest beta, you can do so by heading over to the Mac App Store, navigating on the Software Update feature and applying the Yosemite Recovery Update 3.0.

The beta 3 release includes most of the features that developers saw with the Developer Preview 7, including minor adjustments to icons, a new-look Dark Mode and a couple of other tweaks.

All in all, it’s not a significant leap, but given that we’re now closing in on the end user release of Yosemite, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Apple is focusing on applying the finishing touches rather than implementing anything too drastic or meaningful.

Screen Shot 2014-09-16 at 12.13.11 am

The actual release date of Yosemite is unknown, with Apple having only given a ‘fall’ release bracket when it first took the wraps off the desktop software at its Worldwide Developers’ Conference back in June of this year. With a number of new enhancements, many of which will further ties between OS X and iOS, it’s a worthwhile update for anybody in ownership of a recent Mac, and with the iPad refresh touted for next month, perhaps Apple will use this rumored event to launch Yosemite.

Screen Shot 2014-09-16 at 12.13.38 am

Speaking of iOS, the new-look Yosemite does include a generally flatter UI similar to that of Apple’s mobile operating system, and although the alterations haven’t been as drastic as they were with iOS 7 back in September of last year, the company’s ethos of uniformity has once again been underlined.

Anyway, if you’re a beta tester, check out the third beta, and do leave your comments below.

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